The present invention is concerned with portable industrial screens of the type that are used, for example, at a location at which electric arc welding is being carried out. The radiation from such a welding operation can be very harmful to the eyes of a person who looks at it without the use of protective glasses or the like. Of course the welder who is actually performing the welding operation will wear such protective equipment, but in a shop it is likely that there will be other persons in the area who are not wearing such protective equipment. Even though they know better, such persons may thoughtlessly allow their eyes to be directed at the welding operation, the result being that their eyes can thereby become damaged. To prevent such thoughtless accidents from occurring, it is conventional to employ screens to obscure the welding arc from all but the welder himself. Since it is common in a large shop to have the welding operation performed in various locations as the need arises, these screens are of a type which are easily moved from place to place as the need arises. Also, at different locations where welding is being performed, it may be desirable to have screens of different shapes.
To meet the foregoing requirements, it is conventional for such a screen to be formed of a plurality of sections or panels with each adjacent pair of sections being connected by a suitable hinge structure. Each section consists of a rectangular frame, the sides of which are of relatively small cross-sectional dimensions, and a screen stretched between the sides of the frame. Each section may or may not be provided with feet. While the positioning of adjacent frames at an angle to each other generally will provide the requisite stability for the screen, additional stability is obtainable by the use of feet and this additional stability may be significant when the adjacent screens are substantially parallel to each other.
The manufacture of such screens is a comparatively simple operation not requiring particularly sophisticated or expensive equipment. Consequently, almost anyone who desires to do so can go into the business of manufacturing and marketing the screens. The result is that that business is highly competitive and price is an important factor in determining the buyer's choice between screens. While the buyer is, of course, desirous of obtaining a product that will have a good service life, he will not pay a significant premium in selecting one screen over another. Thus, an important aspect of the present invention is to provide a screen which will have a comparatively good service life yet at the same time will be highly cost competitive.
Not all purchasers of such screens prefer a screen with a particular number of sections or panels. One buyer may want a screen consisting of four sections while the next buyer may want only three. Another buyer may ask for a screen of two panels and some may even want but a single section. This causes a stocking problem for the retailer, typically a welding supply house. The retailer has the choice of stocking screens of various numbers of panels or only stocking one or two sizes (numbers of sections). In the latter event a sale may be lost when a purchaser asks for an unstocked size; even though the purchaser is advised that the requested size can be obtained upon order, since the purchaser may not want to wait for the time required for the retailer to obtain the desired screen. The present invention greatly ameliorates this problem for the retailer since the retailer need only stock screens with a substantial number of panels and if a request for a screen of a fewer number of panels is received, the retailer merely destroys the hinges connecting adjacent sections to produce the requested screen having a fewer number of sections. Since the hinges employed in the present invention are rubber bands, these are easily severed to divide a screen into two screens, each having a fewer number of sections. There is substantially no economic waste to the retailer since the value of the destroyed rubber bands is minimal and the section(s), removed from the original screen that the retailer had in stock to produce one of the requested number of sections, is saleable by itself.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the form of the section frames is such that they may be packaged disassembled in a relatively small container, yet the required assembly operations at the time a screen is sold are simple and uncomplicated. The size of the container is important to the retailer because of his necessity of having the best stock available within the space limitations of his building. Yet, he cannot afford to stock items that would require extensive assembly time on his part or the part of his customers.
Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and drawings.